Do I have your attention? 😉
A society which oppresses women digs its own hole, since women are the ones who primarily raise its children. An unhappy woman with no self-esteem can’t teach her children to be happy and loving. Then the society as a whole cannot be kind, friendly and ethical. All the other “cultural” differences are just details.
يمكننا أن نلاحظ في جميع أنحاء العالم كيف المجتمعات التي تحظى فيها المرأة باحترام حقيقي هي أيضًا أسعد المجتمعات وأكثرها تقدمًا. When using the word ‘advanced’ I don’t necessarily mean technological and economical opportunities (even if there are some connections that can be made), but emotional and social quality of life in the first place. Some societies humiliate women in subtle, not so obvious ways, and it too has consequences.
Western societies regularly turn a blind eye to the abuse of women in some other countries or religions, calling it “cultural differences”. This is cowardly. Culture should not include violating human rights – يجب أن تكون حقوق الإنسان فوق الثقافة. إذا أخذنا في الاعتبار أن التقاليد الثقافية غالباً ما تتشكل على أساس التحيزات والمبالغات المفرطة في التبسيط، فهل يجب أن نحترم ذلك حقاً أكثر من حقوق الإنسان الأساسية؟
ومع ذلك، فإن المرأة مسؤولة عن التغيير مثلها مثل الرجل. فعدد غير قليل من الرجال الذين أعرفهم يمدحون النساء أكثر من الرجال، في حين أن العديد من النساء ينتقدن الرجال ويشعرن بأنهن ضحايا. من ناحية أخرى، بالنظر إلى طبيعة عملي عادةً ما أقابل رجالًا أكثر نضجًا من الرجال، بينما تترك فراغات الإنترنت انطباعًا مختلفًا تمامًا.
على أي حال، مجرد الدوران حول انتقاد الرجال هو موقف الضحية, not a constructive one. Many men can’t be expected to be motivated to respect women, but this comes from their childish feelings to which criticism doesn’t help at all. Boys raised in patriarchal societies usually find deep relief as soon as they become aware of their own gender, and try to act as manly as possible in order to ‘deserve’ the freedom and respect they see other men getting. Even if they wouldn’t do so, society would force them to, through humiliation and rejection if they showed any ‘feminine’ behaviour (even if such behavior has more to do with wider knowledge and understanding than gender). Sometimes their mothers and sisters support this as much as fathers and brothers.
تأثير الأم
Some mothers still encourage their own daughters (and sisters, daughters in law…) less than sons, expect less from them and appreciate them less. Unconsciously, this comes from the same attitude such a woman has for herself.
الأم لها تأثير أكبر بكثير من الأب over a child’s basic impression of themselves and the world around them. The younger the child is, the deeper and stronger these impressions are, and in the first few months and sometimes years of life, the mother is definitely the closest person. Not to mention the pre-natal period, which is probably just as important. I’m not diminishing the father’s role, but it rarely has such deep fundamental influence as the mother’s.
عند العمل مع الأشخاص، عادةً ما ألاحظ الأشخاص الذين كانت أمهاتهم أقل نضجًا عاطفيًا من الأب، عادة ما تجده أكثر صعوبة في التغيير and need more time and effort to do it, than people whose father was the less mature one. The father definitely influences the child’s personality, beliefs and emotional patterns which might cause them problems later in life, but still has less influence than mother to the deepest, most basic self-perception.
تحمّل المسؤولية
إن تحمل المسؤولية يعني أن نجعل حياتنا سعيدة أولاً، وأن نوفر جوًا محترمًا لبناتنا، وأن نرفض كل ما يدعم الأحكام المسبقة (مثل إرسال الفتيات الصغيرات إلى مسابقات الجمال).
The change can’t be imposed aggressively to others. A woman has to be gentle, but persistent. The change must be based on our own behavior as the example. Children learn mostly from observing others and their example, and many adults still learn fastest in that way too.
It’s important for women to realize that, just as they were indoctrinated through most of history to not achieve more and demand more, so were men and boys indoctrinated to think what is normal and what to expect from women. It’s pointless to blame them for being indoctrinated, just as it’s pointless to blame girls and women for not knowing better. Many men are willing to consider the female perspective if it’s عرضها بطريقة ودية ومنطقية، بدلاً من أن تكون مليئة باللوم والتعميم. Some men are not willing to listen because they prefer privilege and power. With such men, it’s especially important to keep in mind the following paragraph.
أهمية الاتساق والعمل
إذا كنت تريد أن تُعامل باحترام، فعليك أن تُظهر احترامك لنفسك. عادة ما يحترمك الناس بالفطرة بقدر ما يشعرون باحترامك لنفسك. Words are not enough – in fact, الكلمات التي يتبعها التقاعس عن العمل تضعفك، من الداخل والخارج. أنت بحاجة إلى استخدام إجراءات حاسمة، ليس لمحاولة السيطرة على أي شخص، ولكن لإظهار أن لديك إرادتك الخاصة، وعقلك الخاص، وأهدافك الخاصة وهويتك الخاصة. Complaining and criticizing doesn’t do that.
If you complain or threaten, only to cave in in the end; or if you justify, ignore or “forgive” inconsiderate, disrespectful, or even violent behavior out of love or pity, or if you hope that the other person would see reason if you are kind enough, the only message the other person will receive is that it pays off to treat you that way; that such behavior is tolerable and justifiable. Few people are able to resist the opportunity to exploit others once they see it’s possible؛ الأشخاص الذين أظهروا عدم الاحترام بالفعل هم أقل احتمالاً أن يفعلوا ذلك.
الحل الوحيد، كما قلت في هذه المقالة, is to prioritize your important values over a relationship – ANY relationship. You must not be afraid of losing a relationship, otherwise you’ll probably end up losing yourself. إذا كنت تجد أن العلاقة أهم من احترامك لذاتك ونزاهتك، فهذا يعني على الأرجح أنك قد تم تلقينك في طفولتك (بوعي أو بدون وعي) بأنك لا تقدر نفسك. يمكن تغيير ذلك، ولكن عليك أن تكون على استعداد لمواجهة مخاوفك.
Some people don’t care about their own selves enough to even try. It’s unlikely we can help them, unfortunately, because they will simply lack motivation to strive for anything beyond magical solutions or controlling other people. We can help those people who might be afraid, but who still have the spark within, even just a tiny little “pilot-flame” of identity and courage, that past abuse, neglect or discouragement didn’t manage to extinguish.

Norman Rockwell: “The Jury”
ذات صلة:
الأفضل والأسوأ في التصحيح السياسي